Jamie gave the girl a rare grin, handed a picnic basket to his brother, and took another for himself. “Thanks, to the both of you. We’ll be back before sunset.” His eyes were full of mischief and adventure as he turned to Vee. “Ready, then?”
My bestie had mentioned bumping into him during the previous night … and based on the sparks zinging between them, it must’ve been one heck of a bump. Without so much as a glance my direction, Vee nodded and they were off. Straight up the side of the mountain like poster children for extreme sports.
Skeptically, I examined the path they’d just taken. “Where exactly is this place?”
“Not far.” Duncan’s boyish, lopsided smile inspired confidence. “Muir Lea’s just a wee bit up the hill.”
Just a wee bit up the hill turned out to be a grueling hike. A hike that, if I’d known just how arduous, would’ve tempted me to stay in the carriage. Apparently, we were going to the top of the mountain peak. That, or Duncan was trying to kill me.
About thirty feet from the top I collapsed on a boulder and chugged from the water pouch Duncan handed me. When I showed no inclination to get back up, Duncan towered over me, his arms crossed over his chest. He tilted his head teasingly. “We’re nearly there now. You need me ta carry you the rest of the way?”
The idea of Duncan MacCrae throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of, well, turnips got me on my feet again. I began to climb, stubbornly ignoring his quiet chuckles and the idea that I’d played right into his hands. Whatever this place was, I doubted anything could be worth the hassle.
The top of the rise opened up into a craterlike field, emerald green and lush, dotted with wildflowers and majestic trees. A clear stream bisected the meadow down the middle, and at the far end, just out of sight, I could hear the trickling of a waterfall. The warm air was fragrant and alive with butterflies of every imaginable hue. If Doon was Utopia, Muir Lea was its Eden.
“Wow!” Okay, so maybe it was worth it.
“Did I not tell ye?”
I ignored his “I told you so” and drank in the wild, unexpected beauty of this secret field. A view-inspired soundtrack—mostly The Sound of Music—played in my head.
At the far end of the meadow, I spotted Vee and her very nice prince slipping into the woods. Fabulous! Just what I wanted—more hiking. In hopes of convincing Duncan that we’d gone far enough, I turned to catch him staring at the other half of our little group. The wistful, unguarded expression on his face caused my heart to wrench.
When he caught me staring, he flashed me a sheepish grin. “I think my brother likes your friend.”
And my friend loved his brother. But that wasn’t my secret to tell, so instead I answered with a casual shrug. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“He’s just reserved. What lad has confidence enough to go after what he wants without a little encouragement?”
“If you say so.”
“What say you to giving them a bit o’ alone time?”
I was for anything that didn’t involve traipsing through the forest like a Sondheim character. When I agreed, Duncan spread a green and blue plaid quilt in the shade of a giant tree and bade—there was no other word that quite captured the courtliness of his action—me sit. After our grueling hike, I eagerly complied, collapsing next to him on the soft blanket with a sigh of relief.
“Comfy now?” As he set the picnic basket off to one side, his cheeks pulled the corners of his mouth in a lopsided tug-of-war.
“I guess.” I ignored his self-satisfied smirk and straightened my skirt. “I’d feel better if I were wearing pants.”
Duncan reacted to my words as if he’d swallowed a nest of bees. “You’re—not—wearin’—any pants?”
“No, I’m not. I’m wearing this skirty thingy.”
He made a croaking noise. His eyes looked about to pop out of his head as his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “And what about underneath?”